Shipping crate



Feb.

J. wHlTwoR'rH ET A L SHIPPING CRATE Filed March 19. 1923 fil Mme

Sheets-Shut 1 lwefar wam@ Fe. 12, 1924.: y l 1,483,648 J. WHITWOR'TH ET AL SHIPPING' CRATE Flilec-l March 19. 1923 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented Feh. l2, i924.

i' fvg FEW a sra-,ras agent carica.

Jenn Wnrrtvonfrn Ann CHARLES' Rumnien, or' Woonsroon, innrnois, Assitenons- 'ro sanirnnv SCALE COMPANY, or. CHICA-Go, rLLInos, A Conroanfrion or r'LLiN'oIs'.

SHIPPING CRATE.

Application led March' 19, 1923i. ySerial No. 625,958'.

To all whom t may concern:

lie it known that we, JOHN l/VnrrwoRrH and CHARLES RoDnRIoK, citizens of the United States, residing at Woodstock, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, have jointly invented certain new and useful improvements in Shipping Crates, of which the following is' a specification.v

T his invention relates to ship-pingcrates, and has for vone of its objects to provide a construction of shipping crate which will absorb shocks incident to dropping the crate and prevent transmission of vsuch shocksy to the contained goods, and aconstruction which Will be eii'ective particularly in preventing the devel-opment of strainsY transversely of the crated goods when the package or crate is dropped on either of its ends. Accordingly, one feature of the-,invention consists in providing a crate with a false bottom or crating bed so related thereto as to bev in vertical bearing above the true bottom of the crate over but ra limited area, and confining the bed upony the said r bearing in a manner to ail'ord a limited rocking movement of the bed upon its bearing, and thus permitting depression of that end of the bed and the attached article of merchandise which is over the e'nd upon which the dropped crate alights, andthereby preventing direct transmission of the shoclr incident to theA drop. Preferably, the bed is confined closely upon its bearing of limited area by meansof cleats fitted: snugly above the sides of` the bed, and the said bearing in is. 'developed through means of cushioning material so that thepermitted depression of an end of the bed results from compression of the bearing, and absorption of shock is not only correspondingly increased but is dissipated as well inl case the crate is dropped squarely upon its bottom rather than upon an end. lncidentally, confinement of the bed between its bearing and the cleats permits thewbedV with the crated goods to slide into or out of assembly with the bottom of the crate and such enclosing frame orV walls as the bottom may carry.

Another object of the invention isto provide means for mounting an: object'to be crated upon the crating bed of the kindv herein described, in a-manner to resist vertical, horizontal, or tipping displacement of thev object relatively to theA bed, thereby adapting the' bed to serve asthe `sole sus; taining'and restraining vmeans for the object,` kand render'l unnecessary the development of coniining bearings between' upper portions of the crate and the upperportionof the cratedobj'e'ct, andl thus permitting all parts of the object to` partake ofthe tipping movements incident to rocking movements of the bed and preventing the development of strains transverse to the vertical dimension of the obge'ct, which would be unavoidable with close confinement of the upper portion of thezebjectin thel upperportion of the` crate. ,ificcordinglfyg another feature of the invention oonsistsin firmly anchoring the crated `object to the kcrating bed ina mannerv to resist vertical, horizontal, or tip-l ping movements between the base of the object and the bed, and defining theposition; of the objeci-l yin the crate entirely `by connng means cooperating directly upon the Still yanother object is to provide improved means for transmitting the tipping movements of the upper p'ortionof theobject directly to the bed without imposing stresses upon the base of the ohject,'or upstanding portions thereof, and, accordingly, another feature of` the invention consists in introducing struts or .-fstays` extending from the bed directly to the upper portion of the crated object, and referably, in addition thereto, stays extent ing from an intermediate portion of the object indirectly to the bed, as, for instance, to a clamping beam through whichthe base ofY the crated object is secured tothe bed. y 4

In order that the invention may be Yfully understood, aln` illustrative' embodiment thereof wil'lbe described in. detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show a yshipping crate designed particularly forthe protection ofy an object, such as a weighing scale composed of a base, an upstanding column upon the base, and a chart housing or head supportedy onthe column. ln said drawings-r A v Figure 1 is a front elevation ofthecrated package with the omission of the bottom rail that is employed to prevent `the crating. bed from sliding out of the crate, and omitting also the fron-t wall ofthe housing that will ordinarily be embodied with .thel cratel to prevent access to the goods from without; and

v no

Figure 2 is a side elevation with the side wall of the crate and housing as well as the near confining cleat omitted.

1 represents the bottom of a crate which may have mounted upon it any suitable construction of sides 2 extending upwardly the necessary distance to protect the upper portion ot' the goods to be crated, and a top 3 supported upon said sides. 4 represents a crating bed which may be assembledi'rom lumber of conveniently available dimensions, and preferably including battens 5, which bed is supported uponthe bottom 1 through a bearing 6 of suitable cushioning material, preferably rubber, `and convieniently'provided in subdivided units in the forin-` of separate cushions, as shown in Figure 2; and this resilient. bearing., while preferablypositionednear the side margins of' the bed 4,' as shown in Figure l, is restricted in area very materially7 in the longitudinal direction of the bed, as shown in Figure2, so as tc'leave. extended overhanging portions 4a, 4h01C the bed 4 which are unsupported and adapted to move downward rather than be suddenly arrested when thel crate is dropped upon either of its ends 1a or l", thusv avoiding transmission of the impact directly to the end ot the crated obj ect, and avoiding serious bending movement and consequent strains transversely of the base of an object that may be mounted upon said bed. `For instance` let it be supposed that a weighing scale comprising, in general, a basev A, upstanding column B, and a chart housing or head C, is resting upon the bed 4 of the crate, and inhandling the crate during transport itis permitted tovdrcp upon its end 1a. It t'he bed 4- were resting immediately upon the bottom 1, the shock ofy this drop would be transmitted directly to the corresponding end of the base A, and this iny turn acting against the resistance oiiered by the inertia of the whole mass B, C, will develop a serious bending strain in an intermediate yportion of the base A and tend to crack the base, if a casting, or chip dit the enamel therefrom if it were finished iii such material. 'Byhaving the bearing 6 restrictedr in area so that the end 4a vof the bed has a substantial overhang without vertical support, the said end 4a will be relieved of the shock of the drop, the' whole bed with the scale or other object supported thereon can execute a slight tipping action, and the shock will be absorbed. 1

In order to confine the bed 4 upon its limited area of' bearing 6, cleats 7 are placed over the side margins of the bed, as shown in Figure 2, these cleats extending to the extreme front and rear ends of the bed, as suggested in Figure 2, and the bearing 6 is made of resilient material so that in the case instanced when the crate is dropped upon its front end l, the confinement of the rear end 4b of the bed by the cleat 7 develops a ulcrum at that point and causes compression ot the bearing` 6 in a degree proportionate to the depression of the torward end of the bed. -Similar action and distribution of stresses follows the dropping of the crate upon its rear end, although, perhaps, ink a degree less than when dropped upon the front end because ot the location of the main vertical dimension oi' the scale nearer to the rear end. Obviously, with the resilient nature of the bearing member 6, shocks incident to dropping the crate squarely upon its bottom will not be injuriously transmitted to the scale because of the location of the bearing with relation to the center of gravity of the scale.

In order to avoid injury to the upperportion of a' scale by' developing bearing between it and the upper portion of the crate, the base A of the sca-le is firmly clamped to the bed 4 of the crate through means of a. beam 8 and bolts 9 passing through the beam kand bed,'said beam restingupon a rigid portion of the scale,r such` for instance, as a so-called shipping spider 10 Awhich is commonly used to rigidly position the levers or other moving parts of the scale mec-ha nisrn during shipment; and the base A is secured against horizontal displacement upon the bed bysuitable means, such, for instance, as blocks 11, 12, and 12, located, respectively, at the front, back, and sides, andy in this way the scale is forced to partake of all movements oithe bed as well as prevented from any movement independently of the bed.

lith the described method of supporting the bed 4 upon the bearing 6 and conlining them in position by cleats 7, it is possible, as will be appreciated by inspecting Figure 1, to slide the bed 4 into and out of position between the bearing G and cleats 7, and this permit-s the scale or other object to be 'mounted upon and removed from the bed while the bed is out of the crate. Preferably an abutting plate 11a, bridged across the rear ends of the cleats 7, is located 'to arrest or assist in arresting the inward movement of the object and bed.

To labsorb stresses that might otherwise be imposed upon the yupstanding portion of the crated scale, and take up any tipping movement of the upper portion orp the scale relatively to its base, struts 13 arel extended from the beam 8 diagonally rearward and upward to a substantial yoke 14, the two members 14a and 14b of which are clamped upon the upper portion of the column B, andthese struts 18 act both under compression and tension in staying the upstanding portion of the crated object.

ln order to stay the upper portion of the crated article, laterally inclined struts 15 are fitted snugly between the bed 4 (preferably indirect-ly and through the medium of the staying blocks 12a) and the underside of the head or chart housing C of the scale; and these struts 15 may be secured by nails or equivalent means 16 to the yoke 14.

In addition'to the beam 8 drawn downward upon the intermediate portion of the base A upon which it bears indirectly through the medium of the spider 10I` there is preferably a shorter beam 17 drawn downwardly by screws 18 upon a rear portion of the base A in close relation to the column B.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the object to be crated is mounted firmly upon the bed and held there against lateral, vertical, or tipping displacements; that the crated object is coniined against lateral, vertical, and tipping displacement of the crate entirely by means of said bed; and that the bed is held in the crate resiliently both vertically and in tipping directions, and can receive no upwardly transmitted shock from the bottom of the crate except through the medium of the bearing ott restricted area beneath the intermediate portion of the scale or crated object, and only in a very slight degree through. this bearing because or' its inherent cushioning nature.

bases upon which they stand when in use; a

crate bottom, a bed adapted to the crated object and a bearing between the bottom and bed having a horizontal dimension materially less than that of the crated object base and positioned beneath the bed to leave the crated object supported upon essentially a rocking bearing and with a substantial overhanging portion, beyond said bearing, depressible under shocks directed upwardly beneath said overhanging portion, means being provided for limiting lift of the portion of the object-base on the opposite side of said bearing from said overhanging portion.

3. In a shipping crate for objects having bases upon which they stand when in use; a cratey bottom, a bed adapted to the crated object and a bearing between the bottom and bed having a horizontal dimension materially less than that oit' the crated object base and positioned beneath the bed to leave the crated object supported upon essentially a rocking bearing and with substantial overhanging portions on opposite sides of' said bearing, depressible under shocks directed upwardly beneath said ovm-hanging portions.

Ll. ln a shipping crate for objects-having bases upon which they stand when in use; a crate bottom, a bed adapted to the crated object and a bearing between the bottom and bed having a horizontal dimension materially less than that oiE the crated object base and positioned beneath the bed to leave the cra-ted object supported upon essentially a rocking bearing and with substantial overhanging portions on opposite sides of said bearing, depressible under shocks directed upwardly beneath said overhanging portions; means being provided for limiting upward movement of either of said overhanging portions as the other is depressed.

5. In a shipping crate, a bed adapted to receive an object to be crated, a bottom member for supporting said bed, and a bearing between said bed and bottom support` restricted in sustaining area to an intermediate portion of the bed, and leaving portions of said bed projecting on opposite sides of said bearing free from support and depressible; means being provided to limit the raising of the bed from its said bearing; said bearing being constructed of cushioning material that is compressed under the depression o an overhanging end.

6. ln a shipping crate, a crate-bottoni, a bed adapted to receive an object to be crat'ed, and having. means for securing such object against tipping on said bed, and a bearing between the crate-bottom andbed restricted horizontally to a dimension materially less than the correspondingdimension of the bed and positioned to leave the bed supported upon, essentially, a rocking bearing and with an overhanging portion of the bed beyond such bearing unsupported and depressible under shocks directed upwardly beneath the same.

7. ln a shipping crate, a bed adapted to receive an object to be crated, a bottom supk port for said bed restricted in area to leave a substantial portion of the bed extending beyond the bearing unsupportedk and adapted to be depressed toward the bottom support, and means being provided for fixing to said bed an object to be crated and holding it against tipping thereon; said last-named means comprising a base clamp for holding the lower portion of the object to the bed and a strut bracing the upper portion ot said object relatively to the bed.

8. In a shipping crate, a bed adapted to receive an object to be crated, a bottom support for said bed restricted in area to lea-ve a substantial portion of the bed extending beyond the bearin unsupported and adapted to be depressed toward the bottom sup port, and means being provided for fixing to said bed an object to be crated and holding it against tipping thereon; said lastnamed means comprising'a clamping beam for binding to the bed the lower portion of the object to be crated and a strut inclining :from said beam to an upper portion olf said object.

9. In a shipping crate, a bed adapted to receive an object to be crated, a bottom support for said bed restricted in area to leave a substantial portion of the bed extending beyond the bearing unsupported and adapted to be depressed toward the bottom support, and means being provided for lining to said bed an object to be crated and holding it against tipping thereon; said lastnamed means comprising a clamping beam tor binding to the bed the lower portion ot the object to be crated, a strut inclining .from said beam to an upper portion of said object, and a yoke through which the upper end of said strut is secured to the object.

10. In a shipping crate, a bed, a supporting base upon which said bed is mounted with limited rocking movement, means for securing to said bed the lower portion of an object to be crated, a yoke for embracing the upper portion of said object, and a. pair of struts extending diagonally upward to the respective ends of said `yoke. i

11. In a shipping crate, a supporting base, a bed mounted on said base with limited rocking movement, means for clamping to said bed an object to be shipped, and bracingfstruts extending from the bed upwardly and adapted to enter into bearing With the upper portion of said object.

12. A shipping package, comprising a bottom support, a bed having a limited area bearing` upon said support and adapted to rock relatively thereto, a scale comprising a base portion and an upstanding portion lying upon said bed, a clamp for securing the base portion or the scale to said bed, and side braces extending from said bed upwardly and inwardly to and in bearing against said upstanding portion.

13. A shipping package, comprising a bottom support, a bed having a limited area bearing upon said support and adapted to rock relatively thereto, a scale comprising a base portion and an upstanding portion lying upon said bed, a clamp for securing t-he base port-ion of the scale to said bed, and side braces extending from said bed upwardly and inwardly to and in bearing against said yupstanding portion; the upstanding portion of the scale being free from bearing against the crate.

14. In a shipping package, a bottom support, limited area bearings upon said bottom support, a bed upon said bearings and having a limited rocking movement relatively to said bottom support, a scale comprising a horizontal base portion and an upstanding column lying upon said bed, means clamping the base portion of the scale to said bed, side braces extending from the bed at the sides of the upstanding column and inwardly toy and in bearing upon said upstanding column, and a strut eX- tending from the, base clamping means rearwardly and upwardly to and connected with the upper part of said column.

Signed at Woodstock, McHenry County, Illinois, this eighth day of March, 1923.

JOHN HITORTH. CHARLES RODERICK. 

